Simon van der Ven
Birth Date: 1960

Artist Gallery
“I find it hard to think of something that isn’t part of my ceramic training, especially if I don’t separate ceramic training from art training. My undergraduate degree is in printmaking. After college I sailed professionally, worked as a goldsmith, and as a carpenter building houses. I taught high school art for 17 years. In 1994, I took a weekend workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Craft with Paulus Berensohn. That experience went in very deep. I went on to earn an MFA in ceramics, graduating in 2001, and have kept clay as the central focus of my art ever since. I’ve yet to find another medium that has so much to teach. I spend between 30 and 60 hours per week in the studio. I average about five hours a week on business details and correspondence. I play hockey during the cold months and bike during the warm ones. I do acupuncture a couple of times a year and am currently working with a sports massage therapist to increase my flexibility and elasticity. My family, my home, my community, and my work sustain me. When my relationships are in balance, when my attention flows from one to another, I can just roll. However, if I allow separation and discord between the elements of my life, through lack of either attention or gratitude, my energy drains away. When I work all day in the studio; when I wedge, and throw, trim, and carve; the work seems to just pass through me. Then I step into the kitchen and put together something beautiful and nutritious for my family; when it all feels like the same effort, that’s a good day. This (my work), and taking care of my and family, is what I do." Simon van der Ven Lincolnville, Maine Pottery Studio